Chapter 292 – Part 2 – The Loan Shark

“Are you really sure this is okay?”

Seong-min’s mother asked anxiously. Seong-min replied firmly, “Yes. Don’t go to the restaurant anymore starting tomorrow.”

“But I should at least earn a little…”

“You don’t have to worry about money. I’ll earn enough for us.”

“I can’t just let my son do all the work by himself…”

“Mother.”

Seong-min stopped walking and looked at her seriously. “Have you ever borrowed money from anyone?”

“Huh? Wh-what do you mean?”

“You seem so obsessed with money lately.”

“N-no, nothing like that.”

Seong-min watched her for a moment, then started walking again. “If you need money, just tell me. I have plenty.”

“Okay.”

She seemed suspicious, but if she wasn’t saying anything, there was a reason. Seong-min decided not to press further and walked home with her.

But when they arrived, several burly men were standing like a wall in front of their house.

He tried to ignore them and walk past, but they blocked his way.

“Hey, Ms. Hee-seon. Or should I call you Mrs. Jeong Hee-seon now?”

A skinny man stepped out from among the muscle-bound thugs.

When Seong-min turned to look at his mother, she wore a troubled expression.

“Do you know these people?”

“Ah, well…”

“Of course she does! We’ve done business together!”

Instead of introducing himself, the man handed over a business card.

“Nolbu Capital?”

“It means ‘let’s be rich and play all day’—just a small company, but we have plenty of funds!”

Seong-min looked at his mother in surprise. “Mother, did you take out a loan?”

She lowered her head. “While you were in a coma, the hospital bills kept piling up…”

“How much did you borrow?”

“Th-thirty million won…”

Seong-min’s eyes widened. “That much?”

It wasn’t a huge amount for him now, but for his mother, it was an overwhelming debt.

The loan shark smirked. “If our hunter here thinks thirty million is a lot, what should we say? You’ll have to pay it back for your mom, right?”

He clearly knew Seong-min was a hunter, so he must have checked their family background.

Seong-min’s gaze turned cold. “So, why are you here? To collect?”

“Not exactly. I have an announcement to make.”

The loan shark pulled out a contract and pointed to a clause.

“See here? It says the interest rate can change depending on status. Your mother’s status went up this morning, so the annual interest rate changed from 30% to 150%.”

“…!”

Seong-min was shocked, but his mother didn’t seem to understand.

“To put it simply, instead of paying 750,000 won in interest every month, now you have to pay 3,750,000 won. That’s five times more.”

“There’s no way that’s legal!” his mother protested.

The loan shark didn’t even blink. “If you borrow money, you have to pay the price. It’s all in the contract.”

“But charging an extra 3 million a month is too much—”

“Your situation isn’t my concern. It’s written right here, isn’t it?”

He looked at Seong-min. “And your hunter son here can earn that much easily, can’t he? For a hunter, three million is nothing. Though, judging by his shabby appearance, he probably doesn’t have it yet.”

Seong-min’s mother looked worried. The loan shark continued, “If it’s too hard to pay, there’s another way.”

“Another way?”

“Your daughter is quite pretty. If she’s trained right, she could be an ace in the business. I’d recommend that option…”

Thud.

The man stopped mid-sentence and looked down.

Thud. Thud.

Yellow bundles of cash were piling up at his feet.

Looking up, he saw Seong-min pulling stacks of bills from his backpack.

“Six bundles of five million—thirty million, right?”

“S-Seong-min, where did you get all that money…?”

“Answer me,” Seong-min said coldly.

The loan shark chuckled. “Well, I didn’t know you were loaded. Boys, pick it up.”

The thugs grabbed the money.

“But isn’t it rude to throw money on the ground? And talking down to me too. I feel like I should charge extra for that.”

“How much?”

“Add one more bundle for this month’s interest and I’ll disappear quietly.”

Seong-min tossed another bundle.

“Happy now? Don’t ever come back to our house.”

“Heh, you’re generous. I wonder how much more is in that backpack.”

“Get lost.”

“Alright, alright, no need to look at me like that. Boys, let’s go. We’re settled.”

As they left, the loan shark added, “If you ever need money again, come find me. I’ll give you a good deal.”

Once they were gone, only Seong-min and his mother remained.

“Seong-min, you haven’t been a hunter long. Where did you get all that money?”

“It just happened. I’ll earn even more from now on.”

He turned serious. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry… I wanted to solve it myself.”

“Paying 750,000 won in interest every month?”

“I thought I could manage once my wages went up. I didn’t know the interest would go up too…”

“That’s how loan sharks are.”

Seong-min stared at the business card.

“Promise me, Mother. Never borrow from loan sharks again. I’ll take care of everything.”

“I promise. I’m sorry.”

“Go inside first.”

“Huh? Why?”

Seong-min crumpled the business card in his hand.

“I’ve got somewhere to go.”

—

The loan shark and his goons walked down the alley, laughing.

“That kid’s got guts. Who’d have thought he’d throw down five million in cash right there?”

“Isn’t that what we call a sucker?”

“Or a real chump?”

“Hahaha!”

They laughed loudly.

“Looks like there was more in that backpack. Too bad we didn’t try for more.”

“We could’ve just taken it by force.”

“Forget it. He’s an E-rank hunter. We can’t handle that.”

“Are hunters really that strong?”

“I’ve heard so, but I’ve never met one before.”

“So today was your first time?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you think?”

The loan shark sneered. “Nothing special. Just another sucker who threw money at us.”

“Next time we see a hunter, we’ll have to talk them up.”

“Come on, would a hunter ever borrow from us?”

“They make too much for that.”

“We’ll just keep squeezing the peasants. Today was just lucky.”

“Let’s go get some steak with the money we got from that chump.”

“Puhaha!”

As they laughed their way down the alley—

“Hey, you guys!”

They turned to see Seong-min running toward them.

“Well, if it isn’t our hunter friend!”

The loan shark approached with a smile. “What brings you here? Need another loan?”

“No. Here, take this.”

Seong-min handed over another five million won.

“What’s this?”

“Your beating fee.”

Before the man could react, everything went white.

With a crunch, his nose broke and he fell backward.

“Boss!”

“You bastard!”

The thugs rushed at Seong-min, but ordinary men can’t beat a hunter.

Thwack!

“Guh!”

Thwack!

“Aagh!”

Each punch sent a thug crumpling like a ragdoll.

When the loan shark came to, it was all over.

“Wh-what the…”

All his men were down, noses broken, unconscious.

“Hey, old man.”

He looked up at Seong-min.

Smack!

His head snapped to the side, his cheek swelling.

“Do you know why I’m doing this?”

“N-no…”

Smack!

His head snapped the other way, splitting his lip.

“If you don’t know, you’ll have to learn.”

Smack! Smack!

The pain was so intense, the man couldn’t think.

“P-please, stop!”

“Can you stop with that stupid accent?”

“S-sorry… I mean, I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I-I’m sorry for offending you, Hunter…”

Smack!

“Half right, half wrong.”

“…”

“I’m not just doing this because I’m offended.”

“T-then why?”

“Because I regret giving money to scum like you.”

Seong-min pulled cash from the man’s bag.

“Don’t worry, I’m not taking it all. I’ll leave the thirty million my mother owed. But—”

He fixed the loan shark with a deadly stare.

“How are you going to pay me back for what you owe me?”

“Owe you? What do you mean…”

“You owe me your life.”

“…”

“I could have killed you and your men. Instead, I just broke some noses. You should be grateful.”

“T-that’s not fair…”

Smack!

This time, a tooth went flying.

“Should I just kill you all right here?”

“N-no, please!”

“Then how will you repay me for sparing your life?”

“T-take everything. All the money…”

“Fine.”

Seong-min took back the thirty million he’d given and stuffed it in his backpack.

The loan shark, bleeding and terrified, looked at him as if he were a demon.

‘He’s a monster… a real monster!’

When Seong-min looked his way, the man immediately averted his eyes.

“Hey, old man.”

“Y-yes?”

“Don’t tell anyone you got beaten by me.”

“O-of course not.”

“If I ever hear you did—”

Seong-min drew his dagger and pressed it to the man’s throat.

“Eek!”

“I’ll kill you. Understood?”

“Y-yes…”

Seong-min sheathed his dagger and strode away.

Behind him, the loan shark’s pants grew wet with fear.